Main reaction to the UEFA Champions League quarter-final draw

Here is the main reaction to the Champions League quarter-final draw, made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on Friday:

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN V BARCELONA

“I think it’s brilliant to play Barcelona. I’m very happy but it’ll be very difficult… Barca have a lot of experience, quality and confidence but PSG have a chance of going through. We’ll have to play the full 180 minutes.”

“It’s the most difficult draw… And I’m not only talking about their last game (a 4-0 win against AC Milan after being 2-0 down from the first leg) but because of what they’ve achieved in the last few seasons.”

– PSG sporting director Leonardo.

“We have just had an experience in the last 16 which means we ought to be prudent. PSG have very good players with a lot of talent. They’ve got experience and know how to play these type of games. I’m sure they’ll fight to the end.

“They are very competitive and, moreover, we will come up against various players we know well.”

– Barcelona director of football Andoni Zubizarreta to fcbarcelona.com

“PSG is a very complete team, with a lot of quality in every position. Obviously, (former Barca forward Zlatan) Ibrahimovic is one of their better players and in the first-leg they will lose some aerial power without him.

“But they have signed many good players iike (Javier) Pastore, Lucas Moura, Thiago Silva, (Ezequiel) Lavezzi, even now (David) Beckham. We need to try and continue in the same way we played against Milan.”

– Barcelona defender Jordi Alba

BAYERN MUNICH V JUVENTUS

“That’s not a dream draw for us because we have had some tough games with Juventus in the past. We’ll have to have two good performances to make the semi-finals. A 1-0 or 2-0 in the first leg would be ideal for us.

“Statistically we have not had good experiences with Juventus. It will be difficult and we will need to have two good days against them to reach the semis.”

– Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

“They have real calibre, Juventus are a really tough opponent. I know them very well, these will be big nights. At the moment, they are the best team in Italy, very strong in defence and with plenty of quality in attack.

“I don’t put much importance on the fact that we play them at home first.”

– Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes.

“After so much suffering we’re finally back among Europe’s elite and for this we are happy and proud.

“We’ll be going into this tie with an open mind and with humility but knowing that we will be able to rely on our own qualities.”

– Juventus director Pavel Nedved.

MALAGA V BORUSSIA DORTMUND

“We’ll take that draw. It’s better to face Malaga than Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.”

– Borussia Dortmund director of sport Michael Zorc.

“There are no easy matches in the quarter-finals. We’d never underestimate Malaga, especially as they knocked Porto out with a mature performance. We haven’t lost any games in the Champions League, I hope it stays that way.

“It’s awesome we got that far, anything else now is the icing on the cake.”

– Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watze.

“At this stage there are no easy teams and Borussia Dortmund are a team that are used to playing these type of games but we will continue with our hope intact and we will have a great chance if we compete as we have done up until now.

“We have to have the upmost respect for Borussia Dortmund. They are a strong team that play good football and we will need to give 200 percent to get through the tie.”

– Malaga forward Joaquin Sanchez on malagacf.com

REAL MADRID V GALATASARY

“Galatasaray are a great team and have fantastic fans so we are expecting two tough matches.

“They have some great players like (Wesley) Sneijder and (Didier) Drogba but our objective is to win that 10th European Cup. That is our goal.”

– Former Real Madrid striker Emilio Butragueno.

“Once you’re in the quarter-finals, all teams are strong. But Real Madrid are above all teams. If you raise your targets high, then you need to rise to the challenge of such teams.

“One of the teams to beat have been drawn against us in this round. I expect this match is going to be followed by the entire football community with great excitement. We’ll do our utmost to be successful.”

– Galatasary vice-president Ali Durust on uefa.com.

Read more :

Less is more for ruthless Russian SharapovaMELBOURNE - Practice makes perfect, in theory, but not for Maria Sharapova.
The second-seeded Russian walloped Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-1 6-0 on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals of ...

Money talking louder than ever in F1LONDON - Timo Glock's sudden exit from Marussia has brought into sharper focus an age-old truth of Formula One - that money makes the wheels go round - and highlighted the gulf between cash...